Baselworld is one of those places where stuff just happens. I was passing by the TAG Heuer booth when I was summoned into the back by Mr. Jean-Claude Biver, for an impromptu chat about TAG's recently-announced partnership with Google and Intel to make a smartwatch. We didn't have the chance to get too in-depth before Mr. F.P. Journe popped his head into the room to say hello, accompanied by mega-collector Claude Sfeir. Oh, and then half of the band KISS showed up and our conversation quickly derailed.

Baselworld is one of those places where stuff just happens. I was passing by the TAG Heuer booth when I was summoned into the back by Mr. Jean-Claude Biver, for an impromptu chat about TAG's recently-announced partnership with Google and Intel to make a smartwatch. We didn't have the chance to get too in-depth before Mr. F.P. Journe popped his head into the room to say hello, accompanied by mega-collector Claude Sfeir. Oh, and then half of the band KISS showed up and our conversation quickly derailed. Essentially it was like every great HODINKEE video* merging into one whacky 30-minute pow-wow. So while our chat was brief, it was somewhat illuminating, particularly regarding this master marketer's strategy with TAG's looming Google/Intel collab. And yes, that was me completely name-dropping in a not-so-shameless way. I hope you'll allow it just this once because it was one of those moments where I looked around the room and simply could not believe what was happening. Okay, now that I'm done with that, this is what I learned from Mr. Biver.

Biver believes that just like with mechanical watches, there will be vastly different segments of smartwatches. He used the example of time-only watches, versus watches with timekeeping and calendar functions, versus models with moonphases, perpetual calendars, tourbillons, etc. You get the idea. He believes that while Apple will likely produce the most functionally-capable smartwatches on the market, there is plenty of room for less complicated smartwatches. For example, he praised Frederique Constant for taking the initiative to create an activity tracker timepiece (and a broader smartwach platform) and said that this watch will occupy the same place that Frederique Constant occupies in the mechanical world – that the product would not go higher because their partnership specializes in activity tracking. That is the baseline smartwatch.

TAG's partners, however, include the largest chip producer in the world and, well, Google. I don't even need to describe the power of Google and its Android platform, but Biver claims it represents 70% of the international market share for mobile devices. (If you paid attention to Tim Cook's keynote two weeks ago you will see that that percentage is getting smaller by the day.) Still, there is no doubt that however the market is split between iOS and Android, Google's OS is used by a significant portion of this market.

Regardless, there were two questions I had to ask Biver. The first was, "What will the TAG Heuer smartwatch be able to do that the Apple Watch cannot?" His answer was, as always, honest. He says that the Apple Watch will likely be the most functional of the two, but his products would be able to do some things an Apple Watch could not.

Do you really think people want to wear a TAG Heuer smartwatch?

The second question was: "Do you really think people want to wear a TAG Heuer smartwatch?" He said, "Yes, of course! At $1,000 for sure!" And that, my friends, was the most revealing part of our quick chat.

In terms of price point, TAG Heuer's product distribution forms a bell curve, with the vast majority of models falling into the $1,500 to $5,000 range. The smartwatch will come in below that, and Biver hopes that it will act as a feeder into the core of the brand as consumers age. He truly believes that smartwatches could be the best thing to happen to mechanical watches in quite some time. He went on to to say that the TAG smartwatch will resemble this Carrera, and said, "For $1,000 would you rather wear the Apple Watch, or a watch that looks like this Carrera?"

Ultimately, his point is that while the Apple Watch works only with an iPhone, the TAG watch will work with any Android device. He says that if you are to consider the price of the average Apple Watch plus the iPhone, and compare that with what the TAG watch will cost plus the Android device, the packages work out to be about the same prices. He drew that litte chart up top, and said that in the $900-$1,200 price range TAG would do some amazing things with Google and Intel.

And then, after all of that, F.P. Journe popped in and the two old friends (of course) started to reminisce.

We'll bring you more information about this TAG Heuer, Google, Intel collaboration in October, when the triumvirate releases more details about the product.